The Minority Among Minorities: Success Factors Surrounding Hmong College Students

Dr. Donna Talbot, Peter K.X. Xiong, and Jason Atherton

Introduction

Dr. Donna Talbot

Peter K.X. Xiong

Jason Atherton

Presentation Outcomes

An understanding who Hmong college students are and how they differ from other Asian American ethnicities.

An understanding of current barriers that Hmong college students face.

An understanding of strategies that affect Hmong college student success.

An understanding of the implication of this study and further studies on Hmong American college students.

How We Got Started

EDLD 6890: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education at Western Michigan University.

Underrepresented and underserved population: Lack of Hmong research in higher education.

Xiong, S., & Lee, S. E. (2011). Hmong students in higher education and academic support programs article sparked interest and foundation.

Who Are Hmong Americans?

Considered to be the aboriginals of China and settled around 3000 B.C.

Emigrated south to the regions of Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and Thailand).

Allies to the U.S. during the Vietnam War: Aided the CIA in Secret War in Laos

Three waves of immigration to U.S. First: 1975-1984 Second: 1985-1999 Third:2003-present

Who Are Hmong Americans? (cont.)

US Census data: 1990 - 94,439 2000 - 186,310 2010 - 260,073

CA, MN, and WI consisted of 87% of total Hmong American students enrolled in school in 2010 (Xiong, 2012).

Enrollment patterns in higher education: Public-95% vs Private-5%

Cultural Challenges

Hmong American students receive little to no help with their academics (Pfeifer, 2005; Xiong and Lee, 2011).

Hmong parents are often non-English speakers; this fact poses a language barrier (Pfeifer, 2005).

Hmong American students may often experience a sense of cultural dissonance in their social identities (Cheryan & Tsai, 2007).

The Model Minority Stereotype

Homogenizes the Asian American population, masking the diversity within Asian American communities due to social class, religion, language, ethnicity, migratory status, length of residence, and education.

General image of what Americans perceive of Asian Americans as a group.

The Model Minority creates a false impression that Hmong Americans students are the stereotype high academic achieving students who are well off.

Current Status of Hmong in Education

Hmong Americans with a H.S. diploma or equivalent 27.2% compared to U.S. population 49.7% (Pfeifer, 2005).

Hmong Americans with an associate or bachelor’s degree 11.7% and 1.5% with graduate degrees, compared to U.S. population 21.9% and 8.9% (Yang & Pfeifer, 2004).

Similar to other Southeast Asian populations, 18.5% Hmong families live in poverty (Lee, 2007).

Hmong college students have reported being underprepared for college (Xiong & Lee, 2011).

Research Questions

What challenges do Hmong college students face in obtaining a Higher Education degree?

How welcome do Hmong college students feel on their campus?

What do Hmong college students report as helping them to be successful?

Demographics of Study Criteria for being included in the study:

(1) of Hmong descent; (2) attending a public 4-year institution; (3) located in Minnesota, Wisconsin or California; (4) between ages 18-23 years old

Total number of student respondents= 178 Total number of students in clean data= 127 Number of males=37 (29%); number of

females= 90 (71%)

Demographics of Study (cont.)

California 36%

Minnesota23%

Wisconsin 41%

States in which students attended higher education

Demographics continued… Year in school:

Freshman (17.6%) Sophomores (20.8%) Juniors (28.8%) Seniors (32.8%)

39% indicated they were affiliated with any religious/spiritual student organization

29% said they were the first in family to pursue a college degree

Demographics continued…

Generation Identity: First Generation: 8.7% 1.5 Generation: 17.3% Second Generation: 73.2% Third Generation: 0.8%

80% of student participants were born in the U.S.

Parent’s level of education

Mother Father0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

ElementaryJunior HighHigh SchoolCollegeDo not know

College choice and experiences

Why did you decide to attend college? 47.6% indicated it was a personal goal 13.7% indicated pressure from parents/family 16.1% said career goals

Hours worked per week: 30.6% worked 11-20 hours 32.3% did not work

GPA and Study Habits…

GPA and Study Habits…

Description of campus experiences

Over 62% of participants felt safe on campus

Over 61% of students felt neutral about or agreed that they felt welcome in the residence halls

41.8% of students report using an academic support program

Challenges in Higher Education

More than 50% of participants reported the following as challenges: Lack of money Study habits/skills Time management Lack of time to study Motivation Lack of direction for career goals Responsibilities at home

My college campus is well represented by Asian American…

…students (over 50% agreed or strongly agreed)

…staff/administrators (44% disagreed or strongly disagreed; 29.6% were neutral)

…faculty (34.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed; 36.5% were neutral)

Qualitative Results

Themes from data: What challenges do you face:

Financial hardships Family obligation Lack of preparation Disconnect from Hmong community Lack of Hmong role models

Qualitative Results (cont.)

What are some ways you receive support: Family (parents and siblings) Hmong friends/community Inspiration from parents and elders history of

immigration Academic success programs Religion/Spirtual

Discussion

What are you seeing as the experiences of Hmong college students on your campus?

What type of success programs or initiatives do you have that directly involve Hmong college students?

Our recommendations based on findings

Need to have a student organization to identify with (Hmong, Southeast Asian, or Asian)

Hmong education and cultural awareness (Hmong excluded in American history)

Institutions and community outreach to educate Hmong parents regarding college due to language barrier (admissions, financial aid, etc.)

Financial barriers need to be addressed with scholarships and education

Limitations of the study Did not include 2-year institutions and 4-year private

institutions Focused only on traditional aged students (18-24 years) Focused on only three states: CA, MN, & WI Uneven distribution among the three states Mostly female participates Used student organizations as a way to contact students Only five articles can be found with a focus on Hmong

college students from 1996 to 2010 (Xiong & Lam, 2013)

Future Research Explore 2-year institutions and 4-year private

institutions Out-of-state vs. In-state Focus on other states (e.g. North Carolina) Include both involved and uninvolved students Identify transfer students Graduate students Qualitative studies

Thank you

Questions, Comments, Feedback

Dr. Donna Talbot (donna.talbot@wmich.edu)

Peter K.X. Xiong (peterkxxiong@gmail.com) *Email Peter for more information or copy of the

PowerPoint

Jason Atherton (jatherto@fiu.edu)

References Chou, R. S., & Feagin, J. R. (2008). The myth of the model

minority: Asian Americans facing racism. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Cheryan, S., & Tsai, J. L. (2007). Ethnic identity. In F.T. L. Leong, A. G. Inman, A. Ebreo, L. H.

Her, V. K., & Buley-Meissner, M. L. (2006). Why would we want these students here?: Barriers to building to campus community partnerships. Hmong Studies Journal, 7, 1-43.

Huffcutt, M. (2010). American Hmong Youth and College Readiness: Integrating Culture and Educational Success (Master's thesis). Retrieved from www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2010/2010huffcuttm.pdf

ReferencesPascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (1998). Studying college

students in the 21st century: Meeting new challenges. Review of Higher Education, 21(2), 151-165.

Xiong, S., & Lee, S. E. (2011). Hmong students in higher education and academic support programs. Hmong Studies Journal, 12, 1-20.

Yang, K. (2001). Becoming American: The Hmong American experience. Ethnic Studies

Yang, L. Kinoshita, & M. Fu (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American Psychology, 2nd ed., pp.125-139. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publication.

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